The Beauty of Ugly Delicious

Chinese Food is one of the most popular foods in America. Think about all the Chinese Food places you see around town, small and large. Just think about the iconic image of Apple Pie being “American”. When is the last time you’ve even had Apple Pie? Now think about the last time you’ve had Chinese food. I bet you’ve had Chinese Food way more than Apple Pie. So, does that make it more American?

Recently I’ve been binging the Netflix show Ugly Delicious where star chef David Chang leads friends around the world discovering iconic twists on traditions and surprising links between cultures.

The episode that really caught my attention was the episode called Fried Rice. It was talking about the population of Chinese food in America and how it began and the cultural baggage that went with it. Most Chinese people immigrated to the United States during the 19th century working as laborers, particularly on the railways. During that time there were a lot of angry Americans (go figure) who didn’t want these immigrants taking their jobs, which lead to violence and terrible laws like the Chinese Exclusion Act which prohibited the immigrated from China for the next 10 years of that date. With this act lead a lot of Chinese people who were already in the States needing to find other means of work so they began opening up laundry services and restaurants. This lead to the spread and population of Chinese Food.

Chinese Food is an American staple. It’s something that we’ve all experienced and taken comfort in. I know for me Sweet & Sour Chicken makes me think of going out to dinner on Friday nights with my parents and grandparents and how it was something special. I know it’s not authentic Chinese but it’s something that makes me all warm and fuzzy inside. I’m sure other people have their nostalgic Chinese food too but watching this show made me want to venture out beyond my usual too. I feel that Windchimes restaurant is like that. They have all the comforts there but also other more authentic Chinese Food too. After watching this show really wanted me to boarded my horizons to trying new Chinese food and I think this is the perfect place to start. Who’s with me?